Email Adele | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable experience, no wonder why Uganda is called the Pearl of Africa!
This was my first safari experience and I am really happy to have chosen Uganda. I don't like too much crowded touristic areas and Uganda was perfect for this. we had the chance to observe a lot of wildlife and enjoy it without crowds of tourists. The scenery was amazing, we moved from savanna to rain forest and back to savanna an,d even if the distance were quite long, the scenery was really amazing , no wonder why Uganda is called the Pearl of Africa!
We changed three different accommodations in 6 days and they were all very high quality standards, while the price were correct and the staff always very helpful and nice. Our guide was really perfect, and the different rangers that we met during our activities were professional and knowledgeable.
Email Josephine | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
excellent experience
the country - which is called the "Pearl of Africa" is a gem, the western areas in particular.
I had a 4 day safari starting from Jinja in the east and including Lake Mburo, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Lake Bunyonyi. The places are wonderful and they deserve visiting.
I booked my trip through Tourist Centre Safaris' agency in Jinja and the program they submitted was simply super.
The accommodation chosen were great, all set in wonderful places with magnificent views.
I recommend Tourist Centre Safaris in Jinja for their skills and care with customers
Email LSK | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I got what I paid for for booking last minute!
AMAZING scenery, especially at sunrise and sunset! The weather was perfect at this time of year (dry season). Got to see a pack/herd? of giraffes, elephants, buffaloes...etc. We were able to see everything except Lions!
We booked very last minute and so we had quite a few disappointments...
- no park ranger as a tour guide - which would have helped us see lions! we were so disappointed to miss the lions!
- our guide spoke poor English and barely explained things to us
- did not go in a 4x4 land cruiser as stated...ended up in a very old van with broken A/C and extremely shaky
- Stayed at Bwana Tembo, which is outisde of the park. Good food, nice manager, but not exactly worth the mid-range price. No electricity in the rooms! Just a fan to help keep cool at night, and our driver was put in a room with NO fan at all and it was boiling hot all night. Very unfair treatment for him.
Email Yannick Reid | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great safari !
We went with Kajie Safaris for 12 days... Everything was amazing ! Our guide Onesmus was the best !! Very knowledgeable he was also very flexible and accommodating. We felt safe and knew that we could trust him all the way ! Ronald was great to book the trip and was very quick and available for any questions.
Email Sarino Pascale | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Stunning!
We booked a 10-day safari in Uganda with Crystal Safari - and were not disappointed: Joseph, our daily guide, guide & driver was nice, funny, knew a lot to talk about & was always punctual (even too early in part).
He also responded to spontaneous special requests, which was great to see more of the local life.
The car and accommodations were great - especially the accommodations were excellent, from free laundry service, to food, hand massage etc.
Email Shlomit | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We had a wonderful trip to Uganda, a beautiful country
We had a 12 day trip to Uganda with Gorilla Link Tours. Uganda has beautiful green scenery, quite different from other African countries we visited. The wildlife is unique as well, due to the presence of gorillas and chimpanzees, although other wildlife was also abundant and beautiful. The roads are quite bad, maintenance missing to make them even decent dirt roads. We recommend to take a jeep if possible since the safary vans are not so comfortable. The accomodations were all fine. Our guide, Mike, was very good and narrated Uganda to us, making also the long drives on bad roads part of the experience. The highlight of the trip was gorrila tracking in Bwindi impenetrable forest. We got very close to 4 gorrilas (silverback, female, a 2 year old and a 2 month old) and spent 1 hour with them, an outstanding experience. The hike to the gorillas is difficult, up hill off trail in a dense, damp forest. In our case the 1.5 hours to reach the gorillas were a good part of the experience, but glad it was not much longer. We recommend very highly hiring a porter. They are really helpful in the difficult parts of the hike, which people tend to underestimate before going. It also provides economic incentive for supporting conservation by the local, very poor, communities.
Email Ray Khan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Can't wait to go AGAIN!
We loved Uganda ... we were picked up from our hotel in Kigali and seamlessly transferred into Uganda. Obviously the Gorilla trekking was by far the most amazing thing. But we were lucky enough to see the Green-Breasted Pitta, a Leopard, etc etc. The people in Uganda are just terrific and Xerox might be the best breakfast food/snack ever. The only downside was the A/C (and therefore the comfort) of the vehicle - specially because the roads in Uganda are probably the worst among the 65+ countries I have been to.
My advice is to get online - and book your adventure to Uganda NOW.
Email Prathima | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect!
This trip was exactly what we were looking for. Someone to take care of all the logistics and an incredibly guide to take us along the way. We still talk about this part of the trip and our guide.
Email Brian | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best trip of our lives
Our 12 day trip with Home to Africa was the best travel experience we have ever had. The trip planning with Elias was extremely efficient and he was quick and helpful with his responses. We were able to tailor our trip exactly as we wanted, including varying times of arrival and adding in a fishing trip for a couple of us. We originally planned a trip for 7 but 2 people had to cancel 30 days before and they were refunded appropriately according to the refund policy. The accommodations were fantastic but I should note that we upgraded them from the base accommodations (for a very reasonable price difference). In particular we really enjoyed the Marafiki Lodge, Arcadia Lodge, Isunga Lodge, and the 2 Friends Beach Hotel. We used a pop-up van which was very comfortable for 5 guests plus our driver and made it through some pretty rough roads without difficulty. Our guide, Derrick, was absolutely awesome. He fit in great with our group and we always wanted him to join us for meals and drinks so we could hang out more. He went above and beyond to help us try foods and pick up souvenirs that weren't readily available. When we stopped in crowded areas or were shopping he was always there acting in our best interest and looking out for us. Can't recommend him enough. The wildlife was fantastic. We had great experiences with the chimp trekking, where they sat on the ground with us for the entire hour, the gorilla trekking, and with the shoebill stork sighting. We also were able to get much closer to much of the wildlife than we expected and got some awesome photos. Our only disappointment was not seeing the tree-climbing lions of Ishasha but they had just done some burning there and the lions probably moved away for a short period of time. Certainly not the fault of the company. The food on the trip was way beyond what we expected. Every meal was fantastic, usually with multiple courses for dinner, and reasonably priced alcohol at the lodges. Considering how remote the lodges were, we were very surprised by how good and varied the food choices were. Staff at the lodges were all fantastic and with a much higher level of service than just about anywhere else we have traveled. One last piece of advice- make sure you stay at Arcadia Lodge on Lake Bunyonyi. I did not think there would be much of interest at the lake and almost wanted to cut it out of the itinerary but it ended up being one of the most mesmerizing views I have ever seen. But the beauty of the lake can only really be appreciated from the top of the mountain where Arcadia Lodge is located. Definitely worth the upgrade. I really can't say enough about our experience with Home to Africa. Everything was way beyond our expectations and for a very reasonable price compared to what many companies are offering.
Email Kyle | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great for Rainforest. Not as great for typical safari.
The tour was fantastic.! Not as good as other east Africa countries but still a wonderful place to visit